Turf wars: ‘Dried mud’ for sale in joke protest at Eamon Ryan’s proposed ban on peat - Independent.ie

2022-09-24 03:50:06 By : Mr. Jack Zhang

Saturday, 24 September 2022 | 6.8°C Dublin

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S eller urges householders to stock up on fuel from his ‘winter trolley’ named in honour of Environment Minister

Eric McNulty is selling bags of 'decorative hardened Irish mud' for €12 in Hospital, Co Limerick. His sign states the turf is not for burning. Photo: Liam Burke/Press 22

A businessman is advertising his turf logs as “mud” in a “tongue-in-cheek” protest at the proposed ban on the sale of peat and other fossil fuels.

E ric McNulty, who owns and runs a filling station, shop and fuel store in the town of Hospital, Co Limerick, is advertising “bags of decorative hardened Irish mud for sale” and says it is “for ornamental use only – not to be burned in a fire”.

A banner on a shopping trolley outside his business also reads: “The Eamon Ryan Winter Trolley: He wants to outlaw everything on here, so buy your fuel now before he bans it.”

When asked about it, Mr McNulty said: “It’s a trolley full of timber, turf, kindling, briquettes, gas – it’s only a tongue-in-cheek thing as we come into the winter.”

However, Mr McNulty claimed Environment Minister Mr Ryan's proposed ban on the sale of turf will hit his business and his customers hard as the colder weather sets in.

“Joking aside though, the politicians are trying to ban absolutely everything that I am selling at the moment and you can only take so much of that,” said Mr McNulty.

Ironically, Mr McNulty is qualified to work in the renewable energy sector, and said he understands Ireland has to try to meet its requirements of halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

However, he argued the Government has little or “no alternatives” to fossil fuels and it does “not have the infrastructure” to incentivise a switch from diesel and petrol vehicles to electric.

“What I find funny is that the Government is trying to get people to change from burning fossil fuels, which I understand and admire and I completely get, but there is no alternative.

“They closed down the peat-producing plants last year and now they are importing briquettes from Latvia and Germany, which aren’t as good a quality as Irish briquettes, so they are actually increasing our carbon footprint.”

Mr McNulty said he agrees renewable energy “is the future, but at the moment it is not feasible”.

"It is complete madness. They have jumped into all of this with two feet and have not got alternatives,” he added.

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“They want fires to be a thing of the past but they are not planning enough for the future.”

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